Banshee: Job review

This Banshee review contains spoilers for “Job.”

Banshee Season 4 Episode 3

Job’s last line of the episode, delivered with his usual sly sarcasm, is the perfect way to kick off this review. “So, did I miss anything while I was gone?” he asks as Brock leads Hood away in handcuffs.

Banshee’s two-year time jump was an ingenious way to begin its last season. Those 24 months afforded the writers the chance to build up compelling backstories for the cast while still introducing new mysteries to be solved. While Rebecca’s killer remains at large, finding Job wasn’t something I expected to be resolved so early in the season. It’s just as well that he’s been rescued, though, given the torture he’s endured for the last twenty months.

The pain and suffering Job has been through is similar to that of Kurt Bunker, or Hood, or Carrie. Each of these characters is grappling with physical and emotional trauma that’s left them battered and bruised inside and out. Sometimes the pain seems more real when the wounds are visible, but these are the kinds of scars that run deep, wreaking havoc to heart and soul. Kurt, Hood, Carrie, they’re damaged goods, all of them. Job is too, but not because of weakness or self-doubt.

Held in a supermax prison and subjected to the kind of physical and psychological warfare usually reserved for enemies of the state, we’re presented with a Job we’ve never seen before. He’s already a broken man, haggard and hairy, a shadow of his former vain, cocky self. As I watched these scenes of him being tortured, I couldn’t help thinking that even if he survived, Job would never be himself again.

The bigger tragedy here, though, is that it took nearly two years for him to be rescued. As much as I love Big Au (especially as played by Eddie Cooper), it seemed like his character fulfilled a deus ex machina role. Without him, there was no way Carrie or anyone else could have possibly tracked down Job. It’s also Big Au’s snipers who take out Hightower’s men at the rendezvous point. I’m not complaining about any of this, because I’m happy Job was rescued. I just think this storyline may have been resolved a little too quickly.

As I mentioned earlier, while Job may be free, he’s still not “free”—and may never be. All of his money from the Genoa heist disappeared with Leo Fitzpatrick, leaving him with less than nothing. But even being taken in and cared for by Carrie is not enough to restore Job’s humanity. Hoon Lee is always good as Job, but in this episode, all traces of the confident master hacker are gone. In a way, I almost wish Lee weren’t so good at portraying Job’s mental anguish. We need to see it, yes, but it’s awfully hard to watch.

Of course, now that Job is back, the next big issue at hand is proving Hood’s innocence. We know the evidence that led to his arrest is circumstantial; indeed, it’s very possible Proctor has the coroner in his pocket, too. Whatever the case may be, Hood’s not off the hook just yet….

Some closing thoughts:

Carrie and Hood enjoy a quiet moment together. It’s not quite like the old days for them, but at least they understand each other in a way that others can’t. “Everybody disappeared all at once,” she tells Hood. She goes on to blame herself for Gordon’s death. Hood, however, has spent two years blaming himself for everything. It’s smaller character moments like these that make the bigger action scenes all the more harrowing because we genuinely care about these damaged people.

It was interesting to see Proctor commit a random act of kindness by taking in a runaway, even if the whole thing backfires. He’s clearly trying to fill the void caused by Rebecca’s death.

As for Rebecca, who would have thought she could be so nurturing or gentle as she cares for Hood? She’s saved him twice now this season—first from drinking himself to death, and now from gunshot wounds. This is something about her that no one else in their right mind would ever believe. But Hood knows the truth, and he’s trying hard to honor her memory.

On a somewhat lighter note, I really hope we get to see Carrie and Deputy Cruz duke it out eventually—that would be one hell of a fight.

And finally, director Everardo Gout did a fantastic job with “Job”, delivering an episode that felt at times like a waking dream, and other times like a gritty Jason Bourne movie.